Signobs of one-thibd to thomas chapman



(No Model.)

J. M. SPENCER & G. W. BEEBE.

- THILL COUPLING. I

No. 355,795. Patented Jan. 11,1887.

N. PETKRS'9MQWL1WL Washington; D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN M. SPENOERAND GEORGE W. BEEBE, OF LAWRENCE, KANsAs, As- SIGNORS orONE-THIRD 'ro THOMAS CHAPMAN, OF sAME PLACE.

THILL-COUPL'ING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 355,795, dated January11,1887.

Application filed October 9, 1886. Serial No. 215,798. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOHN M. SPENCER and GEORGE W. BEEBE, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Lawrence, in the county of Douglas andState of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Improvement inThill-Couplings, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in thin-couplings; and it consistsof the peculiar combination and novel construction and arrangement ofthe various parts for service, substantially as hereinafter fullydescribed, and particularly pointed out in the claim.

The object of our invention is to provide an improved thill'couplingwhich shall effectually prevent the thill-iron from rattling and whichcan be manufactured at about the cost of the ordinary thill-coupling,but at the same time the device is stronger and more durable inconstruction, can be adjusted or tightened with greater facility, is notliable to get out of order, andcan be operated more quickly to effectthe change from thills to draft-poles, as

is sometimes desirable.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a thill-couplingembodying our improvements, Figure 1 is aperspective view. Fig. 2 is avertical central sectional view of thesame, and Fig. 3 is a detachedperspective view of the parts of the coupling.

Referring to the drawings, in which'like letters of reference denotecorresponding parts in all the figures, A designates the axle of avehicle to which my improved thill-coupling B is applied or connected.This coupling is provided with the clip 0, which straddles and embracesthe axle, and the lower ends of the terminal arms of the clip areprovided with slots or openings 0, through which are passed theclip-plate D and the draw-bolt E of the draw-irons F. These terminalarms 0 of the clip are made of spring metal or tempered so that theywill have a slightly spring or yielding action, and the front arm of theclip is provided near its upper end and on the outer exposed sidethereof with an integral transverse lip or flange, 0 for a purposepresently described.

The clip-plate D of the coupling is made fiat in form, and provided onthe lower side and near its ends with transverse notches or recesses d,into which fit or take'the lower edge of the openings or slots .in thearms of the clip, as shown. The clip-plate is provided with the inclinedsides, which converge toward each other at one end, and thereby causethe said plate to resemble a wedge, and the reduced end of theclip-plate passes through the smaller opening that is formed in one ofthe arms of the clip, the openings in the clipplate being made ofdifferent sizes to adapt the larger and smaller ends of the clip-plateto be passed therethrough. When the clipplate is passed through theopenings in the arms of the clip, the said arms are compressed slightlyor drawn together, and thereby more firmly held upon the sides of theaxle, and the clip-plate is then forced or pressed downwardly, so thatthe lower terminal. ends of the slots or openings in the arms of theclip are caused to enter the notches or recesses in the clip-plate. Bythis means the clip is more expeditiously fastened upon the axle thanthe old form of device in which it is necessary to adjust two nuts uponthe threaded ends of the arms, and by making the arms of the clip sothat they will yield and connecting them by a plate the arms are morefirmly andsecurely held in engagement with the axle. A space is left orprovided between the upper side of the clip-plate and the lower underside of the axle, and in this space is fitted the draw-bolt E of thedevice. The sides of this draw-bolt are inclined and converged towardeach other to make the bolt wedge-shaped, and the reduced end of thesaid bolt passes through the smaller opening in the rear arm of theclip-plate? The reduced end of the draw-bolt is externally threaded, asshown, and it projects in rear of the rear arm'of the clip, and a nut orburr, f, is screwed or fitted on the threaded extremity of the bolt, andbears or impinges against the rear side of the clip, as shown. 5

The front end of the draw-bolt is extended beyond the front verticalface of the axle for a suitable distance, and the vertically-disposeddraw-irons F are cast orformedintegral with the said front end of thedraw-bolt.

irons are arranged parallel with each other and a short distance apart,to adapt the thilliron G to be fitted therein, and in rear of this Thesedraw thill-iron and in front of the axle is fitted a mit of the readydetachment and connection cushion, I, which is preferably of rubber orother suitable yielding material. The drawirons are provided withtransverse openings which are arranged in line with each other, theopenings being lettered j. The upper side or periphery of the openingsare provided with notches or recesses j, which coincide with oneanother, and the thill-iron is also provided with an eye, k, which has arecess or notch, 7c, therein, the eye and notch of the thillfiron beingadapted to align with the openings and notches in the draw-irons, topermit a pivot pin or shaft, L, to be passed therethrough to pivotallyconnect the draw and thill irons together. This pin or shaft is providedat one end with a head, I, and it is further provided with projectingshoulders or nibs m, one of which is arranged near the head and theother near the free end of the pin or shaft, and the part or section ofthe pin between the shoulders or nibs'is made cylindrical in form.

To fit the shaft or pin in the draw and thill irons, the latter isturned to nearly a vertical position to adapt its eye and notch toregister with the openings and notches in the drawirons, when the pin ispassed through the aligned openings and eye, while'the nibs or shouldersthereof fit in the notches in the parallel draw-irons, after which thethill-iron is lowered to its normal approximately-horizontal position tothrow or adjust itsreeess or notch out of line with the notches of thedrawirons. By this means the nibs or shoulders of the pin or shaft arefitted or seated in the notches of the draw-irons, while the cylindricalportion thereof forms the pivot on which the thill-iron is free to turn,and the pin or shaft is prevented from displacement by the nibs orshoulders thereof impinging upon the sides of the thill-iron, as will bevery readily understood.

When it is desired to remove the pin or shaft from the draw-irons, andthereby permit of the removal of the thill-iron in changing the thillsfor a draft-pole, it is only necessary to turn the thill-iron until itassumes a nearly Vertical position to adapt the recess or notch intheeyeof the thill-iron to align with the corresponding notches in thedraw-irons. The pin or shaft can. now be readily removed by moving itendwise by the hand, and the nibs or shoulders thereofride in thealigned notches or recesses in the draw and thill irons, as is obvious.It will thus be seen that we provide simple and effective means forpivotally connecting the thill and draw irons, which can be easilyoperated within a moments time to perof the thill or draft-pole.

The cushion I is fitted between the thill-iron and the axle, andimpinges upon the said iron to prevent it from rattling, and the cushionis also fitted beneath the lip o of the clip to prevent the upwarddisplacement thereof, while it is held from lateral displacement bybeing fitted between the draw irons. WVhen the cushion becomes wornthrough use or it is desired to increase the pressure thereof upon thethill-iron, it is only necessary to tighten the nut on the draw-bolt andthereby move the latter rearwardly, which more firmly compresses thecushion between the thill-iron and axle.

When the cushion becomes worn away to such an extent that it isnotdesirable to further compress the same by tightening the nut on thethreaded end of the draw-bolt, a suitable hard substance can be insertedbetween the cushion and axleas, for instance, a metallic plate-to forcethe cushion forward, and a like plate can be fitted between the drawboltand the under side of the axle when it is desired to more firmly tightenthe draw-bolt and clip-plate.

The operation of our invention will be readily understood from theforegoing description,

a clip-plate having the inclined converging 9 sides passing through theopenings in the said arms, and the notches in its under side into whichone of the edges of the arms surrounding the openings 0 therein arefitted to thereby draw the terminal arms of the clip together, alongitudinally-tapered draw-bolt passing through the openings in thearms and resting on the clip-plate and provided at its rear end with athreaded portion, the draw-irons on the front end of the draw-bolt inwhich the thill-iron is pivoted, and a nut fitted on the threaded rearend of the draw-bolt, substantially as described, for the purpose setforth.

I11 testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have heretoaffixed our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN M. SPENCER. GEORGE WV. BEEBE.

\Viinesses:

FRANK D. BROOKS, AMos G. HoNNoL ICO IZO

